Boston College's Cam Atkinson to make pro debut with the Springfield Falcons

The Associated PressBoston College forward Cam Atkinson beats New Hampshire goaltender Matt DiGirolamo for a goal at the end of the second period of an NCAA college hockey game at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, N.H., Saturday, March 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Josh Gibney)

SPRINGFIELD – With a Hobey Baker Award finalist among their late-season additions, the Springfield Falcons head into the next-to-last weekend of their American Hockey League season.

It’s another one without a playoff berth for the Springfield club, but with a young player like Cam Atkinson of the Boston College Eagles among newcomers to their roster, the Falcons will be interesting to watch over their last six games.

Atkinson, a 31-goal scorer for a BC team that was upset by Colorado College in the NCAA tournament, makes his pro debut Friday night as the Falcons host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the MassMutual Center.

He was signed Monday to an amateur tryout agreement. In 2008, Springfield’s current parent club, the Columbus Blue Jackets, drafted him in the sixth round.

Atkinson is a candidate for the Hobey Baker, an award that goes to the top senior player in college hockey.

The other finalists are forwards Matt Frattin of North Dakota and Andy Miele of Miami of Ohio. The award winner will be announced April 8 at the NCAA Frozen Four, to be played at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

“Yes, we have a BC player and he’s a good one. We’ll work him right in there on a line with our captain (Ben Guite) and Tomas Kubalik,” Falcons coach Rob Riley said.

That was before Kubalik was called up by the Blue Jackets on Thursday.

As Riley noted, Atkinson is a proven winner. He won Frozen Four MVP honors when BC took the national championship in 2010. As a prep school player, he helped Avon Old Farms win the New England prep school championship.

Atkinson is a New Englander, born in Greenwich, Conn.

Other newcomers with the Falcons are forward Aaron Bogosian, a former captain at St. Lawrence University; Anton Blomqvist, a 6-foot-4 defenseman from Sweden; and goaltender Allen York, a highly regarded Columbus draftee out of Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute.

Bogosian, who comes from Massena, N.Y., was signed March 18. He has played five games with the Falcons, scoring one goal. Blomqvist, a 21-year-old who grew up in Kristianstad, Sweden, will make his Springfield debut against Bridgeport.

With the addition of York, the Falcons have four goaltenders, and that probably will be the case for the final two weeks of the season. York is a Columbus draftee from 2007. In his senior season at RPI, he posted a 2.17 goals-against average and an 18-11-4 record. He was signed after his team was eliminated from NCAA play.

Riley said he likely will use veteran David LeNevue in goal against Bridgeport. When the Falcons play the Connecticut Whale at home Saturday, either York or recent signee Paul Dainton (from University of Massachusetts) will get the call.

ICE CHIPS: Greg Pytka of East Longmeadow will be honored before Friday’s game with the “Golden Stripes” award, given by the Falcons each year to an important figure in the refereeing community . . . The Atkinson signing certainly set well with Riley, who is a former BC hockey captain. He played on a 1978 team that lost to Boston University 5-3 in the NCAA final . . . Maksim Mayorov, who was promoted to Columbus last week, had the winning shootout goal Tuesday against Florida . . . Kyle Neuber, a winger who has been sidelined with injuries for most of the season, hopes to return this weekend, but now he’s battling flu . . . Defenseman Cody Golobeuf likely will be a weekend scratch because of an injury . . . “Oops” Dept.: The Falcons went 2-5-1 in Sunday home games, not 1-6-1 as previously reported.